Destined
by cw1991
Summary: Ginny awakes to find herself in the Chamber of Secrets following the battle between Harry, Tom and the Basilisk. Look inside for more. Rated M for future content.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I do not own Harry Potter or the canon characters and world created by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. I only own this story and any Original Characters that appear within. **

Ginny awoke with a start the dimly light chamber was unfamiliar to her. The voice calling out to her was familiar and she felt a deep sense of dread as she turned to look at Harry, her eyes peering past him to the giant body of the dead snake nearby. She felt panic and fear settle in immediately as she quickly remembered all of the events of the past year.

"H-Harry." She said her voice filled with guilt and a mixture of other emotions. "It was me." She said as she realized she had to confess now and allow the true horror to be known. "Riddle made me do it."

Harry smiled kindly down at her through the pain etched into his face. "You're okay Ginny." He said with gritted teeth. "He's gone, he won't be able to hurt you or anyone again."

She blinked unsure how to respond. "But the diary." She said quietly, looking about for the book until she noticed it several feet away. The small black leather book was smoking and a large hole now rested in the center of the book as though something large and sharp had been forced through the book from cover to cover.

"It's destroyed." Harry said with heavy breaths and she now saw that he was holding his arm and struggling with his own body as if he had been poisoned. "I destroyed it Ginny. But the basilisk bit me before I could finish off Tom."

She registered his words and as their meaning clicked into place she cried out. "No, Harry!" She felt as if everything were still just a bad dream until a loud screech filled the room and a brilliant red phoenix alighted between them on the ground. She was amazed at the beauty of the bird.

"You were brilliant Fawkes." Harry said as he gritted his teeth at the pain from the venom coursing through his body. "I just wasn't quick enough." He continued as the bird watched him, looking down at his arm with fascination.

Together they watched as the bird cocked its head and, as if sensing the great sadness between them, tears began to form in its orange eyes. The tears fell from the birds head and landed lightly upon the cut that Harry had acquired on his forearm and as they landed a faint smoke came from the wound. She watched and let out a little gasp of surprise when suddenly the injury began to heal, the skin itself closing back up as if he had never been cut.

"Harry?" She asked as she noticed him looking from the bird to his arm with astonishment. It took her a moment to realize that he was no longer breathing heavily, grunting from the pain of the injury and of the poison.

"Of course." Harry said softly as he gently reached out to pet the bird. "Phoenix tears have healing powers." He continued was he thanked the bird for its kindness in providing the antidote to the poison and healing his injured arm.

Harry rose and held out a hand to help her to her feet. She was relieved that he was safe and sound again, but now she could feel her anxiety and fear welling up for another reason. Now she would have to face the severity of her situation, once they returned to the school she would most likely be expelled and sent to prison for the crimes she had unknowingly and unwillingly committed.

She watched as he retrieved the diary and shook the gore and water from it with a look of disgust and curiosity. She averted her eyes no longer able to look at the thing that had caused so much misery. Finally she looked up again to see that he was watching her with an expression of kindness.

"Come on, lets get out of here." He said as he gently took her hand in his own and pulled her toward the entrance to the chamber. "Ron and Professor Lockheart are waiting for us in the tunnel ahead."

She allowed him to lead her back through the chamber and out into the dark tunnel, but it was like being lead to prison. She felt defeated and weak, she just knew it was all over for her. No matter what she could say or do once she was back she would be taken, her wand snapped and most likely within the next few days she would be in a cell in Azkaban.

They followed the sloping tunnel for a long while until the reaching a point where the roof of the tunnel had collapsed. She could hear the distant sounds of someone on the other side working to clear the rubble for them to get back through. She knew that Ron and Lockheart were on the other side but was not surprised when Harry confirmed this and proceeded to climb up to a point at the top where a small hole had been cleared away and stuck his head through.

"I have her Ron, she's safe." He called out to the space beyond. "Is there enough room for us to get through?"

A few moments passed and then the faint sound of her brother's voice came back through the hole. "Yeah, send Ginny through first and then we'll help pull you out."

She climbed up beside Harry and with his and Ron's help she managed to slip through the hole and down the other side of the rock pile. She looked about and was somewhat surprised at the looking darkness before her, the tunnel was far longer than she had expected. She looked about and noticed Professor Lockheart nearby sitting against the wall.

"Come on Harry." Ron called as he helped to pull him through the hole. She could hear rocks on both sides of the hole sliding as they were dislodged but she knew that he would manage to make it through the hole.

She went to sit beside the Professor and as she settled in she noticed that he was not acting as his normal self. She watched as he picked up one of the rocks that lay near him and was astounded when he asked Ron a question that made no sense.

"What's wrong with Professor Lockheart?" She asked as he threw the rock away and tottered backward away from it as if it were a poisonous snake or something more foul.

"He tried to attack us." Ron said as Harry slipped down the rock pile and came to stand beside them.

"He tried to erase our memories so that he could run away." Harry said, disgust and anger crossing what she could see of his face.

She was shocked to hear that a teacher had tried to attack them. She nodded to show that she had heard and then proceeded to look back down at the ground in her shame and guilt. The knowledge of that she had helped even remotely in the attacked and other events this past year weighed heavily on her conscious.

"Let's get out of here." Harry said as the phoenix soared through the hole behind them and hovered in the air before them.

They followed the tunnel back the path before them illuminated by the brilliant glow of the phoenix which continued on before them, leading them back toward the entrance. As they rounded a corner the stone slide that served as the only way in or out of the tunnel came into view ahead, one look told them that they would be unable to climb back out.

"Well how are we going to get out of here?" Ron asked as he turned to look at her and Harry.

Neither she nor he seemed to have even the faintest idea of how they were going to find a way to climb out. Suddenly Fawkes hovered in front of Harry with his tail feathers seemingly extended out toward him. Harry looked the bird over and she was startled when the bird looked back at him with a look of expectation. She had never seen an animal who could almost talk with the way it was staring at them.

"I think he wants us to grab hold of his tail feathers." She said as she continued to watch.

Harry reached out and gently grasped the feathers of the phoenix's tail and exclaimed as suddenly he was lifted slightly from the floor as the bird rose a few inches higher. He quickly told them to grab hold of each other and make a line each holding the others hands. Once they had done as he asked she was surprised to find that she felt weightless and was even more surprised when Fawkes flew up through the long chute of the slide and nearly ten minutes later they were standing in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Whoa!" Ron said as the bird deposited them onto the floor and flew off through the bathroom doors. "Why didn't you say something about owning a Phoenix Harry?"

Harry grinned as he shook his head. "Fawkes isn't mine, he belongs to Dumbledore."

They left the bathroom and headed toward McGonagall's office to let her know what had happened. With Dumbledore sacked she wondered if he was back since his pet bird had helped them. It was with a great sense of fear and sadness that she followed them along, it seemed to her like she were walking to the gallows and her body felt as if it were made of stone as she dragged herself along.

When they reached the door they could hear voices inside the office. The distinct sounds of Mrs. Weasley crying and Mr. Weasley trying to comfort her mingled with the voices of Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore. Harry quickly strode forward and knocked upon which the voices inside ceased as the door swung open.

"GINNY!" Shrieked her mother as she looked up to see her, tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy.

Her father rose and came to the door to pull her into an embrace, one she figured was probably the last he would ever give to his daughter before he learned what she had done. She wondered how her parents would react to having a criminal for a daughter and she broke down into sobs as her father pulled her into the office and the others followed them in.

"Explain yourselves immediately." Cried Professor McGonagall as she took in the sight of Harry and Ron. "Out of your dormitories this late, you had better have a good explanation about all of this."

Ginny was startled by the outburst but it was nothing compared to the feelings that coursed through her at the sound of Dumbledore's voice as he revealed himself from the chair he had been sitting at. She didn't know if she should hand over her wand to him now or wait until the Aurors arrived to take her away.

"Calm down Minerva, I am sure everything can be explained." Dumbledore said calmly as he looked each of them over and waited.

Harry began talking about how he had hearing the voices back when the attacks first started. He told of how he and Ron had learned a great deal of the situation and how they, and Hermione, had searched for clues and learned of Hagrid's innocence. He laid everything that he, Hermion and Ron had done as well as Hermione's discovery that the creature was a basilisk.

She waited and waited for him to reveal all of her part, but when Harry began to describe the diary and how it worked he barely spoke about her at all. He did say that she had originally had the diary, but that he believed that someone else had given it to her through subterfuge as a means to wreak chaos at the school. She was relieved and astounded when he didn't reveal that it was her who had released the snake and written the messages.

At length he did reveal that the diary had managed to possess her and she had unwillingly and unknowingly done various parts of its bidding, but that she had been unaware of her acts. It was true she had many spaces of time over the last year that she didn't remember, times she had found herself somewhere in the castle with no memory of how she had gotten there.

When Harry finally finished she knew he had revealed enough to implicate that she had been an unwitting victim of the diary. Dumbledore stared at her with kindness in his eyes and she was unsure what would be her verdict. He questioned he had listened without interruption but now he sighed.

"Miss Weasley." He said with a frown. "Do you remember exactly when you discovered the diary in your possession?"

"I remember discovering it in with my books when I arrived at the castle." She said, thinking back to her first time seeing the book. "When I first saw it and noticed that it was a diary belonging to Tom Riddle, Jr. I was somewhat confused." She continued with a frown. "I knew my books were secondhand but I was unsure why a diary was there, perhaps my parents had thought that maybe it would be a good way for me to sort my thoughts."

She thought for a few moments trying to pull all of her memories together again. "At first I expected to find the book full of the thoughts and memories of Tom Riddle, but when I opened it the book was blank." She said as she saw the diary whole again, thumbing through the pages to see nothing there. "I was somewhat surprised, but I figured that he must have never written in it." She continued with a frown as she remembered what began to happen next.

"I set the diary aside for a while thinking that maybe I would use it later." She looked at the book as it lay on the desk in front of them. "I did eventually decide to use it a few weeks into the school year, I was having a hard time and wanted a private place to put my thoughts." She continued with a sigh. "When I began to write I watched as the first sentence I wrote suddenly disappeared, it seemed to sink into the pages of the diary, but they were still blank and white."

She felt herself shiver as she thought of what she was about to say next. "Words appeared on the page written by a different person, the writing tidy and clear." She said as she began to reveal how Tom had spoken to her, backing up what Harry had said about it speaking with him. "I was started when suddenly there on the page was a question, "My name is Tom Riddle, who are you?""

She continued to reveal how she and Riddle had begun to talk, how she brought to him her problems and he gave her advice on how to handle them. It had been like finding a new best friend, one she didn't have to share or worry if he would leave her. When she began to talk about how suddenly there were moments when she would find herself somewhere with no memory of how she got there she stated that it must have been at that point that Tom was possessing her.

"Why didn't you try to speak to someone Miss Weasley?" Asked Professor McGonagall with a frown.

"I was afraid that if I came to someone to discuss the diary and everything that I would get in trouble." She said quietly. "I did eventually try a month ago to tell Percy but he brushed me away without even giving me a chance to say anything."

Finally as she finished and Dumbledore sat quietly for a long while as everyone seemed to wait. Finally he nodded as he picked up the book and looked it over before doing the same with the sword. He seemed to be thinking about everything and at last he finally gave a nod.

"You do of course realize Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley that you have broken more than fifty school rules tonight." He said at last as he looked them over. "Under normal circumstances this would be grounds for expulsion. However, due to recent events the both of you will receive awards for special services to the school." He continued with a smile.

Harry seemed somewhat shocked and she could tell Ron was startled, but she was happy for them. They had done a lot for the school in tracking down the culprit and defeating Tom and the basilisk. She wondered what would happen to her now though, she was still unsure if she would be expelled or not.

"I knew Tom Riddle when he was a student here at the castle. He was a handsome and eloquent young man, many admired him." Dumbledore said as he sighed. "He held a great amount of charisma and charm and used it well." He continued with a frown. "I was one of the few he never could charm the way he did so many others."

Dumbledore paused for a few moments as if lost in his own memories. "Today Tom Riddle, Jr. is no longer the man he once was and his name is not one many would recognize, those who would would not react well to hearing it." He said at length with a sigh. "Today he is known by a different name, Lord Voldemort. It is no wonder that he was able to lure Miss Weasley in and over time he used the connection he made with her through the diary to possess and use her to his own ends."

She flinched at the mention of You-Know-Who and heard her mother and Professor McGonagall gasp. "For her part in the events that have transpired this year Miss Weasley is innocent and will not be punished." Dumbledore said as he gave her a soft, sad smile. "Many witches and wizards far older and more experienced than her have fallen pray to Voldemort, and many of them did not fare so well in the end." He continued with a sad sigh. "I see no point in punishing her, but I do hope that this will be a lesson to be more cautious in the future."

She was relieved at this and knew that she would never forget the things that had happened. She had been certain she was going to be expelled but now she knew that she had barely escaped due to her own inexperience as well as her innocence and it was a relief. She felt her mother pull her into an embrace and she allowed herself to be guided to the Hospital Wing where she could be examined and as Professor Dumbledore insisted she would be given a sleeping potion to help her sleep without the nightmares she would otherwise surely have had.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: The Usual Disclaimers Apply. Thank you to JAIMOL for the review. I hope you all are enjoying the story thus far. **

The last few days seemed to fly as the school year came to a close. With the surprise of canceled examinations most of the students had enjoyed their time doing various activities. Ginny had spent the last few days with Ron, Harry and Hermione though she was mostly a quiet observer. Her brothers had all seemed to keep a closer eye on her since the events of the Chamber, something she was both grateful for and found a little annoying. Her bout of silence was somewhat uncharacteristic of her, but she found it easier not to speak unless it was required for otherwise she was unsure what she would have said or done.

She had been eternally frightened by her own part in the events and grateful that Harry and Dumbledore had not made it common knowledge that she had been anything other than an innocent bystander. The fact that she hadn't been expelled was still a shock to her, but she was beyond relieved and grateful. She had explained some of the events that lead to her discovery and use of the diary to Harry, Ron and Hermione but she had mostly kept everything that had happened to herself.

She was somewhat afraid to be leaving on the train tomorrow. Afraid for what her parents may have in store for her, and afraid to be leaving her friends at the wonder of Hogwarts. She was excited for the break from studies, but it also meant going back to the normal drabness of everyday life back at the Burrow.

She looked up from her thoughts to see that Harry and Ron were playing wizards chess while Hermione sat quietly in a chair nearby reading a book. It was still strange that she had found her way into their group, even if it was probably only temporary. Her feelings for the boy who had saved her, the silly little crush she had on him, were still very much there but she was finally able to somewhat talk more freely around him. She had wondered if the events from the Chamber would change anything, if the feelings she had for him were shared but thus far it seemed that he only saved her because it was the right thing to do. The addition that she was his best friend's little sister was also heavily involved as to why he had risked his life for her.

She sighed inwardly, she had hoped that after everything he would notice her. He had been friendly enough in his own way and had assured her along with Hermione and her brothers that she was safe and everything was fine. In reality they were right, but still she found herself somewhat dissatisfied that he still seemed to only view her as the kid sister of his best friend.

She knew she was too young to really know what love was, or to even pretend at it. She knew also that she had strong feelings for Harry and that she hoped eventually he would have feelings for her. The few times she and the girls in her dorm had discussed boys, she had willingly admitted to having a crush on Harry. Something she had been teased about, but still continued to hold onto.

"That's fifteen to eight." Ron said, breaking her thoughts as she looked over to see his queen take down the final piece of Harry's defense. "Shall we take a break?"

She smiled softly, rolling her eyes at their antics. "Bored already?" She asked as she slipped off the chair she had been sitting in and joined them on the floor at the table.

"No, but it's lunch time." Ron said with a groan as his stomach rumbled its approval of the idea.

She laughed as Hermione roused from her book. "Ronald, do you ever think of anything else?" the bushy haired brunette said with a sigh.

"There's other things to think about?" Ron said with a bemused smile. "Come on, lets go eat."

Ginny giggled at the look on Hermione's face though she stood to follow without agrument. The others got to their feet and Ron packed up the chess set with surprising care. She knew that the game was a favorite past time of his, but eating was definite higher on the list.

They walked out of the portrait hole to find several other Gryffindor's walking toward the staircase. She was somewhat surprised though she guessed with classes practically over and the school year ended there was little else to rule over their lives except meal times and whatever else they decided to do. She saw the twins ahead and wondered if they would join them today as usual.

As they followed the group ahead she allowed her thoughts to resume their pacing from the Common Room and inwardly sighed. She didn't know what to do to catch the attention of any boy let alone Harry. She knew from advice that it was a good idea to get to know a boy and try to incorporate things that he was interested in into her own interests. With Harry that was exceptionally easy to an extent; he liked Quidditch and she too was very passionate about the sport though she didn't play. However, all she really knew about him aside from what she had seen, was what she had heard from friends and others. His past was known to the entirety of the magical world, his defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby was the focal point of so many.

She sighed, she would have to get to know him better. She realized that perhaps this time she was spending with him now could be a good starting point for this. Perhaps she could indeed find a way not only to become better friends with him, but to also make her own dreams come true. How to begin with this new revelation was another matter, she would have to figure out a way.

Realizing suddenly that Harry was watching her she felt the familiar blush on her cheeks as she snapped back into the present. She looked about to see that they had all stopped just outside of the Great Hall. It was weird to find that she had managed to distract herself so completely that she didn't remember the trip down the stairs.

"Did you hear me?" Harry asked politely as he gave her a somewhat worried look.

"Sorry?" She asked as she blanched understanding he must have asked her something.

"I asked if you were going to sit with us again this evening or if you were going to sit with your own friends." He said with a smile.

"Oh." She said quietly. "I was going to sit with you all tonight if you don't mind." She said, hoping that they didn't.

"Of course we don't mind." He said as Hermione and Ron watched the interaction with quiet interest.

She nodded gratefully and smiled back. "Thanks." She said as they resumed their walk into the Great Hall.

They took their seats near the middle of the table in a fairly empty spot. It was a quiet evening and she knew that many were preparing for departure in the morning. It was going to be a long evening, she still had to finish rounding up her belongings and packing them away. Another part of the end of the semester she was not looking forward to.

She listened to their conversation and added in a few minor observations on various topics. She found herself interested in the plans of everyone. She wondered if her parents would take them anywhere this summer or if they would simply spend another year at home.

"Mum and dad were thinking about going to France." Hermione said as she recounted the letter she had received a few days ago.

"France?" Ginny asked with a feeling of longing. She had always wanted to experience other parts of the world. "You have been there before?"

Hermione nodded as she took a sip of her water. "Yeah, we went two summers ago before I came to Hogwarts." She said with a grin. "We went to Spain one year." She continued.

It was weird hearing about how someone could be so fortunate. "I wish we could go to another country." She said quietly. "It's hard for Dad to get the time off though." She continued quickly not wanting to point out that this was also due to their income.

"Maybe you will." Hermione said with a gentle smile. She knew that Hermione already knew quite a bit about their financial standings, but it was still weird discussing them openly.

"Maybe." She said quietly though she very much doubted it.

"I will be spending another summer with the Dursley's." Harry said dejectedly. "Maybe they will be better this year though." He said and Ron and Hermione laughed.

She knew Harry had a hard time with his aunt and uncle, their relationship was not exactly a loving or friendly one. She had overheard quite a lot last year and backed up what she knew with various opportunities over the last year.

"Maybe you can come and visit again this summer?" Ron asked with a smile and she felt her heart soar at the idea.

"Yeah, that could be loads of fun." She said as she seconded the suggestion.

"Maybe, though I am not sure how they will react to the suggestion after what happened last year." Harry said with a frown. "It wasn't exactly the best introduction for them."

Ron laughed and she giggled quietly. "No it wasn't." Ron said with a grin. "But if they hadn't locked you up we wouldn't have had to rescue you."

Harry nodded and she could tell the idea of coming over for the summer was appealing to him. It was appealing to her too, it would mean she could spend time with him over the summer. Not that he would be coming over for her, but it would also mean that she would have more time to try and get to know him. She sighed inwardly hoping that this could become a reality. Time with Harry would be both a pleasant difference to the norm and a blessing in disguise for her feelings.

She wondered briefly if she could ever get him to like her. It seemed like something that was beyond impossible, he probably didn't even really think of her at all. Well maybe as a friend, or at least as Ron's sister, but not anything else. She realized again that she was letting her thoughts run away with her and sighed as she returned to the conversation at hand.


End file.
